fireemblemfandomcom-20200223-history
Berkut
|fullname = |jap_fullname = |alias = |jap_alias = |gender =Male |race =Human |age =17 |nationality =Rigel |residence =Rigel Castle |occupation(s)=Heir Apparent for Rigelian Throne |relatives =Unnamed Father Unnamed Mother Rudolf (Uncle) Alm (Cousin) Celica (Cousin-in-Law) Rinea (Fiancé) |game =Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia Fire Emblem Heroes |firstseen =Chapter 3: War of Deliverance |class =Paladin Gold Knight (Chapter 4) |mirage = |voiceby ='Japanese' Tatsuhisa Suzuki English Ian Sinclair }} Berkut is a non-playable character who appears exclusively in Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. He is the nephew of Emperor Rudolf of Rigel and a major antagonist in Alm's route. Profile A noble general of Rigel, Berkut's father, who was Emperor Rudolf’s younger brother, died when Berkut was around 10 years old. Being so timid as a child that even riding a horse would make him cry, his mother raised him strictly so that he would not be teased for being fatherless, and to become a man worthy of becoming the next emperor, until she also passed away before he reached adulthood. Viewing Emperor Rudolf as a surrogate father figure, he developed an interest in devoting himself to the military, in order to seize recognition for his deeds. He guided the coup d'etat in Zofia by luring Desaix into betraying his homeland. Berkut also convinces Fernand to join the Rigelian army after leaving the Deliverance. He is vying to be the next emperor and commands the invasion of Zofia to prove his military prowess. He is also engaged to Rinea, who cares for him during the ongoing war. According to Lukas, he is around the same age that Alm is. Zofia's Deliverance Berkut first fights Alm in Chapter 3 where he faces the Deliverance alongside Fernand out of sport and in order to test their strength. Despite a tough fight for Alm, Berkut is defeated, forcing him to retreat to the Rigelian palace. Disgraced by his loss against Alm, Berkut begs Rudolf for a second chance to face Alm, this time with the Rigelian army behind him, as despite Jedah's assurance, he believes the Deliverance might be able to break past the sluice gate. Before leaving, Nuibaba offers to grant him great power through Duma to give him an edge over Alm. Seeing no honor in having to resort to a God's blessing to beat Alm, Berkut refuses. However, Nuibaba gives him a mirror, telling him to shatter the mirror if he desires power. Later, Berkut and the Regelian army meets the Deliverance just outside of the floodgates and promptly charges into battle, bent on killing Alm. He is, once again, bested by Alm. In desperation, Berkut shatters Nuibaba's mirror, causing a curse to fall over the Deliverance. Berkut is horrified by the dark magic while Fernand is shocked, but Alm's pendant from Celica removes the curse and Berkut is forced to retreat once more. Assault on Rigel Later, as the Deliverance finishes its campaign through Rigel and arrives at the castle's doorstep, Berkut pleads to Rudolf for one more chance to face Alm. Disappointed by his failures, Rudolf denies Berkut's request and he is forced to watch as the battle unfolds ultimately resulting the death of Rudolf by Alm's hands. End of the Age of Gods Not only does Berkut lose Rudolf during the battle, but also his claim to the throne. With his dying breaths, Rudolf declares that Alm is his biological son and thus the true successor to the Rigelian throne. This discovery causes him to wallow in despair in the basement of the Tower of Duma, where the god himself offers to give Berkut the power he desires. Worried for Berkut, Rinea follows him into the Tower and tells Berkut that she does not care whether or not he is emperor, as she never wanted to be empress and only desired to spend the rest of her days with him. Berkut perceives it as a slight of her admitting she was in on Rudolf's secret. Driven over the edge, Berkut then willingly gives himself to Duma, offering whatever Duma desires in exchange for power. Duma demands Rinea's soul as his price, and Berkut complies, turning her into a Witch. Blinded by his new power, Berkut makes Rinea attack and mortally wound Fernand, who came to check on him. Later, as Alm heads down Duma Temple to claim Falchion, Berkut stands in his way. Despite Alm attempting to ask Berkut to work together to restore peace to Rigel and Valentia, Berkut refuses and is overcome by Duma's blessing. After the battle, Berkut begs Alm to kill him and end his suffering. Suddenly, Rinea appears in spirit, restored to her original appearance. Rinea continues to tell Berkut that regardless if he is emperor or not, she still loves him for the noble man he truly is deep down. Berkut, having regained his sanity, accepts her offer to look for his "empire" together, so long as he accepts her as his "empress". As Berkut is on his death throes, he hands Alm a ring, a memento of his mother, and trusts Alm to restore Valentia and make it a land led by men, rather than gods. Berkut departs into the afterlife with his beloved Rinea next to him for their new journey. Personality Berkut is a prideful man who, much like Fernand, places great emphasis on social status. Unlike Fernand, who acts as if he is owed something for being a noble, Berkut feels the need to demonstrate his own power and worth, subtly signifying contrast between Zofian and Rigelian ideals. Berkut tends to come off as haughty, bigoted, and even a bit aggressive, in the way that he talks down on others. He is very mistrustful of most people, particularly the church of Duma; he loathes and outright fears Jedah, and is extra-suspicious of religion and magic as a result. His parents hammered it into his head as he grew up that might made right, and that he could never follow in Rudolf's footsteps without being strong. As an adult, while a part of him recognizes how poorly his parents treated him, he refuses to acknowledge that Rudolf treats him much the same. He is desperate to please his uncle, who is seldom shown as anything but taciturn or disapproving towards Berkut in return. His desperation is his undoing; he is fiercely proud, yet at the same time, walking on a knife's edge, terrified to fail Rudolf and prove himself unworthy or weak. As the game progresses, he lashes out in frustration more and more, almost looking for excuses to see people doubting him, as seen with Rinea when conflict happens. In spite of that, he is much different when he is alone with Rinea, as she is the only person he has ever trusted. Their relationship is as important to his character as it is to hers. Berkut is keenly aware of her needs and feelings, and while he does still overcompensate in front of her at times, he is unafraid of expressing his true emotions in front of her. He feels that she genuinely deserves the power and status of an empress, to the point where she cannot tell him she does not want to be one, and becoming angry when she expresses relief that Alm is the rightful emperor. Rinea's heritage as a member of minor, if not downright impoverished nobility, does not matter to the otherwise strictly hierarchical Berkut. This is shown to a lesser extent when he's with Fernand as well since Berkut considers him a comrade and they both share similar social views. In-Game ''Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia Stats Chapter 3 |-|Normal= *Granted by Blessed Ring **Dropped upon Defeat |-|Hard= *Granted by Blessed Ring **Dropped upon Defeat Chapter 4 |-|Normal= |-|Hard= Granted by Coral Ring* Chapter 5 |-|Normal= ''*''Granted by Kriemhild |-|Hard= ''*''Granted by Kriemhild Supports Passive Supports * Rinea Fire Emblem Heroes |-|Original= ;Prideful Prince :''First in line to the Rigelian throne. Prideful but loves Rinea with all his heart. Appears in Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. Base Stats Rarity: Lance |Skill= Steel Lance }} Lance |Skill= Berkut's Lance Rising Flame }} Lance |Skill= Berkut's Lance Rising Flame }} Skills Overall Base Kit Berkut is a Lance Cavalry Unit who is one of many Grand Hero Battle units given to the play base for free. His statline is odd having a respectable Atk and physical bulk, but lacks Spd and Magical Bulk. However, the latter is somewhat of a misleading statement as his base kit shores this up, that is if maintaining said skills to give him a relative mixed bulk that makes him somewhat difficult to kill in a single hit from both sides of the damage spectrum. Berkut suffers from his Grand Hero Battle unit status as it removes the ability to take Assets and Flaws to focus his kit in other areas. He is a situational unit who can excel in certain circumstances, but he is far outclassed by many other units, including some easy to summon 3-4 star units. Berkut's Lance gives him a +4 Res bonus when under attack which can prove mostly useful against red dragons like Tiki and Garon. If he runs Distant Counter this also allows him to check Red Mages as well. Berkut does not quite use it to maximum efficiency, but some other units in the game make great usage of this lance, making it a good budget inheritance option. Blazing Flame deals damage in an area when he initiates battle with it charged. Since he has low Spd, he needs to rely on either special accelerating skills or on the enemy doubling him to charge it quickly. Water Boost gives him +6 Res if he has at least 3 more HP than his opponent, giving him a potential +10 Res, bringing him to a manageable 34 Res. His HP is not exactly the highest, but he can apply it over some units. Ward Cavalry is a solid Skill C that boosts the defensive stats of ally Cavalry units by 4 if he is adjacent to them at the beginning of the player's turn. Counters Berkut is vulnerable to Green Units, even when he is built to address physical or magical units. Berkut's low Spd at 22 allows a breadth of units to double him and even some Blues can take advantage of this to destroy him. Blue and Green dragons normally carry bulk and can easily survive a hit from him and double back. He does have potential high Res, but most of the boosts are applied in battle, thus he is vulnerable to most Ploy units. Skill Inheritance Options Berkut can make for a flexible wall unit especially if he maintains his default lance and refines it with a Res boost as it increases the Warding Stance effect to give him +7 Res when attacked plus a base 5 HP and 4 Res increase. When attacked, this means that he has 35 Res. When paired with Distant Counter, he can easily check ranged units, especially most red mages. If he is lacking access to that skill, increasing his bulk with the likes of Bracing Stance, Warding Stance, or Steady Stance are advisable since he is better off letting enemies attack him than him attacking them. Reposition is a standard Support skill while Iceberg works off of his improved Res and will deal more damage unless Steady Stance is used, in which case Bonfire works well. Quick Riposte addresses his low Spd by giving him a guaranteed follow-up. Skil C is fine with Ward Cavalry, but he can also use Wave skills, especially Defense or Resistance Wave since it can boost himself and an ally at the same time. |-|Darkness Within= ;Purgatorial Prince :Heir presumptive to the Rigelian throne. Fell into a deep despair when the truth about Alm came out. Gave his betrothed's life to Duma to obtain power. Appears in Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. Base Stats Rarity: ✯✯✯✯✯ Lance |Skill= Kriemhild Retribution }} Skills Overall Base Set Fallen Berkut is an improved version of his base form, having mainly access to Assets and Flaws to reallocate stats to the necessary areas. Functionally, Fallen Berkut is the exact same, but with slightly better distribution, mainly enhancing his bulk, but further decreasing his already low Spd, which for him is a minor inconvenience when he has the bulk to survive attacks from enemies and can counterattack with his weapon under the right circumstances. Kriemhild is a unique weapon that is the core of how Fallen Berkut operates. He remains a baiting unit, wanting to be attacked rather than initiating battle, and more so he performs the best against ranged units. So long as Fallen Berkut is within two spaces of an ally and any ranged unit initiates battle against him, he gains a Distant Counter effect and denies follow-ups. Berkut utterly walls many powerful ranged units and is likely to counter in tow. The only downside is one the positioning of Berkut to any ally but also, if he uses the effect, he deals 20 non-lethal damage to the nearest ally unit. It can be a heavy cost, though smart players can actually use this transferred recoil to put some units into the right damage thresholds for their own skills. Fallen Berkut has Reprisal for his special, increasing his damage dealt based on 30% of the damage dealt to him. It can lead to huge damage and charges quickly, but is inconsistent as the damage output fluctuates heavily.. He introduced Warding Stance 4 which not only gives him +8 additional res when attacked, giving him a neutral 38 Res stat, more than enough to take a hit even from a green Mage and works well against non-green dragons. It also slows the enemy’s special cooldown by 1. Finally, Odd Resistance Wave grants a +6 Res buff to himself and allies adjacent to him at the start of odd numbered turns. This means that on odd numbered turns, if attacked, he can have a neutral 44 Res, which is incredibly high and renders nearly all magical damage moot. Counters Berkut excels against ranged units, but fares poorly against direct units since Kriemhild is otherwise a powerful lance with no effect against such foes. He does have a decent physical bulk so his only main weakness is to particularly powerful or bulky Axe users due to the triangle advantage. Axe units with at least average Spd are more than able to double him. Hector, Surtr, Brave Ike, Cherche and Ranulf are particularly good counters. Skill Inheritance Berkut’s inheritances are rather straightforward. Reposition is a typical support skill for unit positioning and Iceberg provides a much more consistent bonus damage output and has a decent charge rate. Because he should focus on baiting ranged units, Distant Defense is a great option instead of Warding Stance as it allows him to add Bow and Dagger to what he can wall off. If he can get Distant Defense 4, then he can also neutralize enemy visible stat bonuses on top of a solid +8 to both defenses. Guard is a fantastic option if running Distant Defense to slow down enemy special charging or alternatively he can take Quick Riposte to address his low Spd and guarantee his own follow-up. The latter can be delegated to his Seal or he can also take Fierce Stance to boost his Atk when he is under attack himself. |-|A Splendid Soiree= ;Debonair Noble :A royal of the Rigelian Empire. Dancing holds no particular interest for him, but he can't say no to Rinea's pleading smile. Appears in Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. Base Stats Rarity: ✯✯✯✯✯ Lance |Skill= Verðandi Dance }} Skills Overall Base Set Counters Skill Inheritance Quotes Critical * "Die, worm!" * "Know your damn place!" * "Meet your end!" * "Begone from my sight!" Unit Quotes Although Berkut is not playable in the final game, he and Fernand both have full voice files in game data as playable units, suggesting that both were cut late into development. As a unit, his critical quotes are the same ones that he uses as a boss. :Berkut/Echoes: Shadows of Valentia Quotes ''Heroes'' :Berkut/Heroes Quotes Non-Canon Appearances ''Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher) Berkut is illustrated in the trading card game ''Fire Emblem Cipher with the following cards: Etymology Berkut (Бе́ркут) is the Ukranian word for the Golden Eagle. Trivia *Pre-Act 5 Berkut is the only enemy besides Fernand who has unused battle dialogue when selected on turn 1 and when below half health. **This may suggest that Berkut was once originally a playable character seeing as he does not have many other playable quotes, including a lack of post battle quotes. This may have been a thought early in development but was scrapped later on. *During the fight against Berkut in Act 4 on the Normal difficulty, Berkut shares the exact same stats as the boss Seazas, who appeared in Gaiden but was removed from Shadows of Valentia in favor of Berkut's boss fight. *Berkut and Rinea are the only non-playable characters in the game to have a passive support. *In Act 5, when the final battle of Berkut takes place, Berkut's and Rinea's combined attack range forms a heart. *Excluding Medeus, Berkut is the first Fire Emblem antagonist to have two personal battle themes in the same game. When he's normal the theme Pride and Arrogance plays, and when he's demented the theme The Scion's Dance in Purgatory plays. Gallery Category:Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia characters Category:Enemies Category:Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher) Characters Category:Fire Emblem Heroes Characters Category:Male Characters